The monograph on the artist Niklāvs Strunke (1894–1966) summarizes for the first time his extensive heritage – painting, book art, set design, various branches of decorative, applied art and design.
This book is an affectionate dedication to Niklāvs Strunke. With an elegant Latvian accent, this artist extended our identity into an infinite world filled with fairytales and reality, dreamers, warriors and ordinary workers, so that via the melting pot of ideas, and talented hands, a new beauty would emerge to enrich our lives.
Laima Slava, compiler
The book includes an album of reproductions of works and documentary photographs, providing an overview of the artist and his work. This is followed by essays appraising the artistic fields in which Niklāvs Strunke worked – art historian Aija Brasliņa tirelessly documented Strunke’s biography and artistic contacts; artist Valdis Villerušs scrupulously studied the world of books and graphics; Latvian theatre historian Edīte Tišheizere, representing the international fraternity of avant-garde theatre researchers; art historian Ilze Martinsone revealed the unexpectedly broad scope of Strunke’s applied art.
The book is complemented by Laima Slava’s conversation with Strunke’s son artist Laris Strunke, as well as the memories of poet Pāvils Johansons and Niklāvs’ granddaughter Laila Strunke.
The appendix comprises a comprehensive informative material and English translation of the texts.